Correspondence on Moment Distribution in a Modern Curriculum by Dr. M.J. Creed

Dr. D. Johnson (M) (Nottingham Polytechnic)
Dr. Creed’s emphasis on the physical operations involved in moment distribution as illustrated by the calculation of rotations and, hence, deflected shapes is an approach which has been adopted by at least one recent text. There is also certainly a school of thought which feels that ‘topics like moment distribution are now anachronistic and can go’, in which context it is interesting to observe that the survey contained in the Institution report ‘Qualitative analysis of structures’ found that moment distribution was the topic most frequently used in practice by recent graduates. Perhaps most teachers would concur with Dr. Creed’s restricted coverage of moment distribution which emphasises physical principles and the stiffness nature of the technique. However, if this is the view of the teachers, what about the learners?